P O W
by Autumn L
Summary: Movie'07. Long, long ago, before a planet was at war, there was a Cybertronian who was built specifically for battle. He met his match in strength, words, and firepower one day when he was captured by two female fighters and found himself held as a P.O.W.


A/N: This was written for the 28 Fics Meme. On-His-Knees '07 Ironhide with Chromia and ElitaOne was chosen by Tiamat1972 of DeviantArt. I have chosen to set this before Elita earned her "one". This is also canon for "Shiriverse" of how Ironhide and Chromia met.

* * *

**P.O.W.**

The hulking dark form walked past where the two female Cybertronians had taken cover. It had come out of the factory they had been staking out for the last three days and it proceeded to walk in a patrol pattern around the area. They were wary of the large, high-powered cannons mounted on its arms.

"Elita, it is the heavy duty model," said the larger of the two over a secure frequency. She was both taller and bulkier than her companion. "I cannot believe they agreed to produce it in the first place. No one is in need of that great an amount of weapons power."

_"Someone_ is, Chromia. Someone commissioned it." She silenced the line as the patrolling mech came past again. They could hear the rasping of its intakes as it cycled the apparent necessary air for its specifications.

Chromia waited until it left again to comment over the line, "He sounds ill."

Elita gave her a doubtful look. "How could you be certain of malfunction? Or that it is male?"

Chromia's mouth quirked into a smile. "We should ask, to be sure."

Elita tightened her hold on the taser in her right hand. "I concur."

The two femmes kept low as they navigated the natural metal formations jutting from the ground, following the direction the mech had gone in. They paused every few steps, listening and making sure he was moving away from them. When he stopped at the edge of his assigned area, Elita continued moving while Chromia backtracked several steps. Then she leapt out into the open. "You there! What is your function?"

The all-black mech turned to her, his white optics glowing above a rounded battle mask in an unforgiving glare. "Unauthorized personnel detected. Exit the premises immediately!" he commanded in a deep voice.

"Answer my question first." Chromia scanned him, noting where his energy generators were in conjunction to his weaponry. They were charging.

"Unauthorized personnel!" The mech raised his arms, the rest of the cannon mechanics sliding into place. "This is your final warning! Exit the premises--" A jolt of electricity leapt around his body from behind him. He growled and whipped around, aiming his right-hand weapon at Elita. Chromia darted forward, grabbed his left arm, and pressed her own taser into his exposed side neck cables. He let out a bellow, then shuddered and shut down. Chromia adjusted her hold to keep him upright.

Elita had dropped to the ground the nanosecond he had begun to turn. She retrieved her taser then moved up to the mech's side to help Chromia carry him. "I suspected we would need two or more shots to take him down. Let us go before his absence is noticed."

Chromia nodded. "I have him. You scout ahead and be ready to cover me." Elita nodded, familiar with the other femme's ways and knowing to not get in the way of her superior strength. Chromia, meanwhile, was finding the mech to be little burden at all.

* * *

"He is online."

The mech's instinct was to lunge toward the voice. He quickly -- and painfully -- found that his arms were bound behind him, connected to his ankles by an energy bond. He was stuck leaning up on his knees near the wall of a cluttered warehouse. He rumbled in anger, withdrawing his battle mask into the sides of his face so they could see the snarling set of his mouth.

"I was correct on the assessment. His only weapons are the cannons and his solid build."

He looked toward the voice now, and saw the two femmes sitting amongst piles of metal crates. They were both mostly gray of armor, the shorter of the pair with light red highlights while the other, larger femme had blue. He rumbled louder, sneering.

"Correction: attitude is dangerous as well."

"Who are you?!" he demanded, staring at the second femme. "Why did you attempt to question me?!"

"We have a need for data. You were chosen to give it to us," Elita said calmly.

"I have none to give you! Release me!"

Elita began to reply but Chromia raised a hand to stop her. "We _did_ gain data from you while you were in stasis lock. Such as the fact that you have been in operation for fifty stellar cycles and have been certified complete in your programming tests. This was your fourth assignment to perimeter duty due to behavior."

"How dare you raid my datatracks! What _else_ have you done to me, you--"

"Silence, soldier!" Chromia snapped. The mech went still. "Report your designation and function!"

"Designation: Ironhide! Function: front line offensive!" The tone of his reply was disturbingly precise and empty of emotion.

Elita shook her head, murmuring, "He is like a drone, given the correct orders. Can you calculate the meaning behind dozens, or hundreds or more, of mechanoids with suppressed sparks?"

"I am counting the number of necessary bullets now," Chromia replied quietly. The mech was glaring at her, his face angry but optics blank. She took one step back. "Report your long-term objective."

"War."

The two femmes looked at each other. Elita copied Chromia's facial expression. "Report your alliance!"

"The highest bidder."

Chromia stepped forward again. "Do you have any opinion about that order?"

He scowled, removed from the automatic responses. "I was created to fight. That is my function. I do not need to have an opinion about it."

"Do you have tactical proficiency or does someone else also tell you how to load your weapons?" Chromia asked mockingly.

He growled. "I have greatly advanced proficiency in all manner of weapons and battle planning!"

"You have advanced _programming._ That is not the same as actual experience, Ironhide." Chromia leaned over to look him in the optics. "You also must take into account what your _spark_ tells you."

He snorted in her face. "You are not so old, yourself. What experience do _you_ speak from?" She brightened her optics, not moving. Elita was amazed to see him hunch lower beneath Chromia's glare. "You are a strong one," he grudgingly admitted. "What do _you_ fight for?"

_"Your_ freedom." He blinked then scowled in uncertainty. She continued, "We were not granted sentience in order to serve others. Sparkless drones can be made to do that. But some feel that they can cage a spark and bend it to their will. You have a right to exist and a right to carry the armaments you choose. But you should not be _programmed_ to _want_ things such as war."

Ironhide huffed. "I like battle. It justifies my existence in my own processor."

"So too does it in mine. However, I fight -- and hone my skills -- when _I_ choose to."

Elita backed away as the exchange went on. Ironhide's demeanor was changing the more Chromia talked. It almost appeared as if the other femme was getting through to him. Yet Chromia was changing, too. Elita couldn't put her finger on it, but something was there.

She reached the warehouse's main door and startled when she heard noise outside. The area was not one for random traffic so she could guess who was out there. She hurried back over to interrogator and captive. "Chromia, someone is outside," she whispered then looked at Ironhide. "Do you have a tracking device in you?"

The mech looked angry again, but it wasn't directed at her. "Yes. I had forgotten. Yet I would have disarmed it had I known I was not among enemies." He glanced at Chromia, then looked at Elita again. "Go, both of you. They will find me. Better that I face detention for my failure to watch the grounds."

Elita nodded and dashed for the concealed exit. Chromia waited then depowered the energy bonds. "Destroy what you wish to here. No one will be coming to claim these spare parts." She held his gaze with a commanding expression. He nodded, bringing his arms forward and rising. She didn't make room, remaining stern until Elita commed her.

The roof went up in a fantastic explosion as soon as they were clear. They heard shouting from the other side and took the sign that he was covering their retreat. They hurried away as a lone infuriated roar filled the air -- a sound that warned away anyone in the vicinity.

* * *

The two femmes stopped after they had put half the city between them and the warehouse. Elita lead the way into a narrow alley. "Do you think you were able to reach his logic circuits?"

"Yes," Chromia replied without hesitation.

"Are you certain?"

The larger femme nodded. "I could sense it. I felt a...kinship with him. In his own way he understood. We will have to wait to see what comes of it."

* * *

One stellar cycle later a riot broke out at a manufacturing plant. The troops being created and trained there left, many going one way, several going another. No one tried to stop them. They were all formidable and set on their respective courses.

Ironhide found Chromia waiting for him.

**End**


End file.
